Where It All Began
SINCE DAY ONE, OUR FOCUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO FEED HUNGRY KIDS
In 2012, mother-daughter duo, Joanne and Emily-anne were confronted with the reality of childhood hunger in their own community. In particular, they learned about the “weekend hunger gap” — when kids who normally rely on school-day meal programs suffer in silence over the weekends when meal support is scarce.
Joanne and Emily-anne engaged local schools, donors, and volunteers. In September 2012, Backpack Buddies made its first delivery of 20 bags of food to hungry children at a school in East Vancouver.
Today, our team at Backpack Buddies supports over 5,000 hungry children every week by collaborating with educators, administrators, social workers and other non-profits. In 2022/23 school year, we delivered over 1.25 million meals to children in 63 communities across BC.
How We Help
Childhood hunger and food insecurity are realities for kids in every corner of our province. Kids who depend on school meal programs for regular meals, often suffer in silence over the weekends when meal support is scarce. Every bag of food from Backpack Buddies provides a child with meals and snacks to last them the weekend and beyond.
From Our Community
For years, we’ve saved notes from families, educators, donors and volunteers about the impact a bag of food on Fridays has made for a kid and their family.
Our Team
They say teamwork makes the dream work and in our case, it’s absolutely true. Meet the team at Backpack Buddies that works hard every day to feed hungry kids across BC.
Governance
LEADERSHIP. TRANSPARENCY. TRUST.
We know that it takes trust to partner with an organization. Meet the people that hold us accountable to the highest levels of integrity and explore our reporting to see it for yourself.
- Meet our Board of Directors
- Explore our Annual Reports
- Read our Financial Statements
Our Partners
We gratefully partner with donors, foundations, and businesses every year who are passionate about feeding hungry kids in their communities. Meet our generous change makers, champions and friends who make this work possible.
Meet Our PartnersMake a Difference Today
Feed Hungry Kids
Join us as a donor. Pack bags as a volunteer. Get your company connected. Whatever you do, when you get involved with Backpack Buddies, you will be putting hope back on the table for hungry kids across BC.
Get Involved
There are lots of ways to get involved with Backpack Buddies. Join us and explore how you can make a difference in the lives of hungry kids in your own community and across BC.
Get StartedDonate to Backpack Buddies
Give today and provide hungry kids with meals and snacks for the weekend and beyond.
One-Time GiftMonthly Giving